Method and system for restricting mobility using unique encrypted chargers

ABSTRACT

A method and system for disabling a mobile unit to handle a call processing function, after being away from its charging unit longer than a predetermined time period, allows a service provider to limit the mobility of the mobile unit with respect to its companion charging unit. Consequently, the service provider may limit the mobility of the mobile unit in a limited area, such as in a wireless local loop.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §120

The present Application for Patent is a Continuation of patentapplication Ser. No. 09/933,995 entitled “Method and System forRestricting Mobility Using Unique Encrypted Chargers” filed Aug. 21,2001, now abandoned, and assigned to the assignee hereof and herebyexpressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosed embodiments relate generally to communications,and more specifically to a wireless local loop.

2. Background

A wireless service provider may operate in a geographical area under anexclusive agreement with a local regulator such that other local serviceproviders should not provide similar mobile service to their customers.Under such arrangements, the local service providers need to restrictmobility of their wireless customers within a limited area. One suchenvironment may be a wireless local loop (WLL).

To restrict mobility of a mobile, a service provider may limit themobility of the mobile's charging unit by, for example, making thecharging unit larger and heavier. However, this solution suffers fromincreased cost and inconvenience to the subscriber. In addition, thesolution may not be effective to restrict the mobility of the mobile, ifthe subscriber may find another similar charging unit while away fromhis or her charging unit. The local operator may require the subscribersto use fixed wireless terminals (FWT) instead of regular mobiles, butFWTs are bulky and more expensive.

There is therefore a need for a method and system that restricts themobility of mobile units in a WLL, in a simple and inexpensive way.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein address the above stated need. In oneaspect of the invention, a method and system for call processing in acommunications system, including a mobile apparatus and a chargingapparatus, allows call processing if the mobile apparatus receives arequest for call processing within a predetermined time period.

In another aspect of the invention, a method and system for a chargingapparatus provides for the charging apparatus to receive a random numberfrom the mobile apparatus, and to encrypt the random number. The methodand system further provides for the charging apparatus to send theencrypted random number to the mobile apparatus.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a method and system for enablinga mobile apparatus for call processing causes the mobile apparatus toencrypt a random number, to send the random number to a chargingapparatus, to receive an encrypted random number from the chargingapparatus, and to enable the mobile apparatus based on the comparison ofthe encrypted random number in the mobile apparatus and the encryptedrandom number received from the charging apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features, nature, and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from the detailed description set forth below whentaken in conjunction with the drawings in which like referencecharacters identify correspondingly throughout and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a wireless communication system that supports anumber of users;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of an embodiment of a base stationand a mobile station;

FIG. 3 is a representation of a wireless local loop;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for a mobile call processing in a wireless localloop;

FIG. 5(A) and FIG. 5(B) are flow charts in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are flow charts in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are flow charts in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A subscriber station, referred to herein as a mobile, may communicatewith one or more modem pool transceivers (MPTs) referred to herein asbase stations. A mobile transmits and receives data packets through oneor more modem pool transceivers to a base station controller. Modem pooltransceivers and modem pool controllers may be parts of a base station.A base station transports data packets between multiple mobiles. Themobile may be further connected to additional networks, such as acorporate Intranet or the Internet, and may transport data packetsbetween each mobile and such outside networks. A mobile that hasestablished an active traffic channel connection with one or more modempool transceivers is called an active mobile, and is said to be in atraffic state. A mobile that is in the process of establishing an activetraffic channel connection with one or more modem pool transceivers issaid to be in a connection setup state. A mobile may be any data devicethat communicates through a wireless channel. A mobile may further beany of a number of types of devices including but not limited to PCcard, compact flash, external or internal modem, or wireless phone. Thecommunication link through which the mobile sends signals to the modempool transceiver is called a reverse link. The communication linkthrough which a modem pool transceiver sends signals to an accessterminal is called a forward link.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a wireless communication system 100 that supportsa number of users and is capable of implementing various aspects of theinvention. System 100 provides communication for a number of cells, witheach cell being serviced by a corresponding base station 104. The basestations are also commonly referred to as base transceiver systems(BTSs). Various remote terminals 106 are dispersed throughout thesystem. Each remote terminal 106 may communicate with one or more basestations 104 on the forward and reverse links at any particular moment,depending on whether or not the remote terminal is active and whether ornot it is in soft handoff. The forward link refers to transmission frombase station 104 to remote terminal 106, and the reverse link refers totransmission from remote terminal 106 to base station 104. As shown inFIG. 1, base station 104 a communicates with remote terminals 106 a, 106b, 106 c, and 106 d, and base station 104 b communicates with remoteterminals 106 d, 106 e, and 106 f. Remote terminal 106 d is in softhandoff and concurrently communicates with base stations 104 a and 104b.

In system 100, a base station controller (BSC) 102 couples to basestations 104 and may further couple to a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN). The coupling to the PSTN may be achieved via a mobileswitching center (MSC), which is not shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity. ABSC may also couple into a packet network, which is typically achievedvia a packet data serving node (PDSN) that is also not shown in FIG. 1.BSC 102 provides coordination and control for the base stations coupledto it. BSC 102 further controls the routing of telephone calls amongremote terminals 106, and between remote terminals 106 and users coupledto the PSTN (e.g., conventional telephones) and to the packet network,via base stations 104.

System 100 may be designed to support one or more wireless standards.Such standards may include the CDMA standards such as (1) the“TIA/EIA-95-B Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard forDual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System” (the IS-95standard); (2) the “TIA/EIA-98-D Recommended Minimum Standard forDual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular Mobile Station” (the IS-98standard); (3) the documents offered by a consortium named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project” (3GPP) and embodied in a set ofdocuments including Document Nos. 3G TS 25.211, 3G TS 25.212, 3G TS25.213, and 3G TS 25.214 (the W-CDMA standard); and (4) the documentsoffered by a consortium named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2”(3GPP2) and embodied in a set of documents including Document Nos.C.S0002-A, C.S0005-A, C.S0010-A, C.S0011-A. C.S0024, and C.S0026 (thecdma2000 standard). In the case of the 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents, theseare converted by standards bodies worldwide (e.g., TIA, ETSI, ARIB, TTA,and CWTS) into regional standards and have been converted intointernational standards by the International Telecommunications Union(ITU). These standards are incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of an embodiment of base station204 and remote terminal 206, which are capable of implementing variousaspects of the invention. For a particular communication, voice data,packet data, and/or messages may be exchanged between base station 204and remote terminal 206, via an air interface 208. Various types ofmessages may be transmitted, such as messages used to establish acommunication session between the base station and remote terminal andmessages used to control a data transmission (e.g., power control, datarate information, acknowledgment, and so on). Some of these messagetypes are described in further detail below.

For the reverse link, at remote terminal 206, voice and/or packet data(e.g., from a data source 210) and messages (e.g., from a controller230) are provided to a transmit (TX) data processor 212, which formatsand encodes the data and messages with one or more coding schemes togenerate coded data. Each coding scheme may include any combination ofcyclic redundancy check (CRC), convolutional, turbo, block, and othercoding, or no coding at all. The voice data, packet data, and messagesmay be coded using different schemes, and different types of messagesmay be coded differently.

The coded data is then provided to a modulator (MOD) 214 and furtherprocessed (e.g., covered, spread with short PN sequences, and scrambledwith a long PN sequence assigned to the user terminal). The modulateddata is then provided to a transmitter unit (TMTR) 216 and conditioned(e.g., converted to one or more analog signals, amplified, filtered, andquadrature modulated) to generate a reverse link signal. The reverselink signal is routed through a duplexer (D) 218 and transmitted via anantenna 220 to base station 204.

At base station 204, the reverse link signal is received by an antenna250, routed through a duplexer 252, and provided to a receiver unit(RCVR) 254. Receiver unit 254 conditions (e.g., filters, amplifies, downconverts, and digitizes) the received signal and provides samples. Ademodulator (DEMOD) 256 receives and processes (e.g., despreads,decovers, and pilot demodulates) the samples to provide recoveredsymbols. Demodulator 256 may implement a rake receiver that processesmultiple instances of the received signal and generates combinedsymbols. A receive (RX) data processor 258 then decodes the symbols torecover the data and messages transmitted on the reverse link. Therecovered voice/packet data is provided to a data sink 260 and therecovered messages may be provided to a controller 270. The processingby demodulator 256 and RX data processor 258 are complementary to thatperformed at remote terminal 206. Demodulator 256 and RX data processor258 may further be operated to process multiple transmissions receivedvia multiple channels, e.g., a reverse fundamental channel (R-FCH) and areverse supplemental channel (R-SCH). Also, transmissions may besimultaneously from multiple remote terminals, each of which may betransmitting on a reverse fundamental channel, a reverse supplementalchannel, or both.

On the forward link, at base station 204, voice and/or packet data(e.g., from a data source 262) and messages (e.g., from controller 270)are processed (e.g., formatted and encoded) by a transmit (TX) dataprocessor 264, further processed (e.g., covered and spread) by amodulator (MOD) 266, and conditioned (e.g., converted to analog signals,amplified, filtered, and quadrature modulated) by a transmitter unit(TMTR) 268 to generate a forward link signal. The forward link signal isrouted through duplexer 252 and transmitted via antenna 250 to remoteterminal 206.

At remote terminal 206, the forward link signal is received by antenna220, routed through duplexer 218, and provided to a receiver unit 222.Receiver unit 222 conditions (e.g., down converts, filters, amplifies,quadrature modulates, and digitizes) the received signal and providessamples. The samples are processed (e.g., despreaded, decovered, andpilot demodulated) by a demodulator 224 to provide symbols, and thesymbols are further processed (e.g., decoded and checked) by a receivedata processor 226 to recover the data and messages transmitted on theforward link. The recovered data is provided to a data sink 228, and therecovered messages may be provided to controller 230.

A wireless communications system, as described in FIG. 2 for anexemplary embodiment of the invention, may be utilized in a wirelesslocal loop (WLL) as shown in FIG. 3, for example. FIG. 3 shows arepresentation of a communications system infrastructure where atraditional wire local loop (LL) 306 may be replaced with a wirelesslocal loop (WLL) 310. The traditional LL 306 connects subscribers 308A,308B to the distribution point 304B through wire cables, whereas the WLL310 connects subscribers 312A, 312B to the distribution point 304Bthrough wireless communication. In one embodiment, the base station 204(FIG. 2) may be positioned at a distribution point 304B, such that themobile station 206 (FIG. 2) may provide wireless communication serviceto subscribers 312A and 312B in a limited range, such as a sector.

To restrict mobility for the mobiles operating in the WLL 310, accordingto one embodiment of the present invention, a WLL timer may be providedfor each mobile such that the mobile may not be able to respond to arequest for call processing if the request is received by the mobileafter a predetermined time period. The WLL timer may be a software timerinside the mobile. The request for call processing may include a requestto initiate a call or a request to receive an incoming call.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart 400 for restricting mobile call processingaccording to one embodiment. A mobile may be in an idle state 402, whenit may receive a request for call processing, in step 404. In step 406,the mobile may check a WLL timer to determine if a predetermined timeperiod has expired. In one embodiment, the timer may be implemented byusing a register. The register may be loaded with the system timewhenever the mobile is successfully enabled for call processing, as willbe discussed below. When a call-processing request is received, themobile may compare the content of the register with the current systemtime. If the difference is less than a predetermined time period, thetimer has not expired and the call processing may be allowed. If thepredetermined time period has expired, the mobile may be disabled tohandle the requested call processing, and may return to idle state 402.If, however, the predetermined time period has not expired, the mobilemay be enabled, in step 408, to handle the requested call processing.

One embodiment for enabling a mobile for call processing will bedescribed in reference to FIG. 5(A) and FIG. 5(B). A mobile may gothrough an enabling process while the mobile is in idle state. In oneembodiment, the enabling process may be periodic. In the idle state, amobile may periodically monitor a paging or control channel for overheadmessages and parameters, which may also include control signals and datafor enabling the mobile for call processing, according to one embodimentof the invention. In one embodiment, a mobile may go through theenabling process when the mobile is positioned on a dedicated chargingunit that is dedicated to the mobile. A charging unit may include amicrocontroller for implementing the mobile enabling process, devicesfor performing mobile charging, and input/output devices forcommunicating with the mobile. A mobile may also include necessarydevices for information processing and input/output operations.

The mobile enabling process may be carried out through an encryptionprocess between a mobile and a charging unit, as will be describedbelow. The encryption process may be implemented by exchanging securerandom codes between the mobile and the charging unit. After determiningthat the mobile is legitimately communicating with its dedicatedcharging unit, the mobile may be enabled for call processing for only apredetermined time period, or alternatively for a predetermined distanceform the charging unit, which restricts the mobility of the mobile iftaken away from its dedicated charging unit.

In step 502, a mobile may generate a first random number or code, N,based on some predetermined criteria. In step 504, the mobile mayencrypt the first code N with a common code, P, which is commonly knownby the mobile and its companion charging unit. The common code P may beprogrammed inside both the mobile and the dedicated charging unit, whichmay be dedicated to each other during the provisioning process by theservice provider. The programming process may be carried out through thedata ports provided for the mobile and its charging unit. The commoncode P may be programmed inside memory devices located inside the mobileand its dedicated charging unit. For security purposes, the programmingof the code P may be restricted to only when the target memory devicesare blank, such that such memory devices in the mobile and the chargingunit are one-time programmable. Such memory devices may be flash memorydevices. In another embodiment, the mobile may encrypt the first code Nby using a private code and a public code, an encryption technique thatis well known in the art.

In step 506, the mobile may also encrypt a predetermined variation ofthe first code N to generate a second code, e.g., N+1, using the samecommon code P. In step 508, the mobile attempts to send the encryptedfirst code N to its dedicated charging unit. In step 510, the mobiledetermines whether the mobile is positioned on its dedicated chargingunit. If the mobile is positioned on its companion charging unit, themobile sends, and the charging unit receives, the encrypted first codeN, in step 512. If, however, the mobile is not positioned on itscompanion charging unit, the mobile may not be enabled for callprocessing, and may transition to idle state 502, where the mobile maywait for the next enabling cycle.

In step 514, the charging unit, having received an encrypted first codeN from its companion mobile and knowing the common code P, decrypts thefirst code N. Similar to step 506, the charging unit, in step 516,generates the same predetermined variation of the first code N togenerate a second code, e.g., N+1, using the same common code P. In step518, the charging unit sends the encrypted second code, N+1, to itscompanion mobile. In step 520, the mobile receives and decrypts, usingthe common code P, the output information it has received from itscompanion charging unit. In step 522, the mobile compares the decryptedoutput signal received from its dedicated charging unit with the storedsecond code N+1 that the mobile had generated in step 506, as discussedabove. If these two codes match, it is verified that the mobile isactually positioned on its dedicated charging unit, and thus the mobileis enabled for call processing. In one embodiment, the mobile may beenabled for a predetermined period of time, for example by resetting aWLL timer in the mobile to a predetermined value, in step 526.Alternatively, a down counter may be used. If, however, the result ofthe comparison in step 5224 is negative, which indicates that the mobilemay not be positioned on its companion charging unit, the mobile is notenabled and may transition to the idle state 502, where the mobile maywait for the next enabling cycle.

Another embodiment for enabling a mobile for call processing will bedescribed in reference to FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B. In step 602, a mobile maygenerate a random number or code (N) based on some predeterminedcriteria. In one embodiment, the random number may be generated byencrypting the system time. The encryption may be based on the Rijndael128-bit key encryption technique, for example. In step 604, the mobilemay encrypt the code N with a common code, P, which is commonly known bythe mobile and its companion charging unit, as explained above inconnection with FIG. 5A. The encryption may be based on the Rijndael128-bit key encryption technique, for example.

In step 606, the mobile attempts to send the code N to its dedicatedcharging unit. In step 608, the mobile determines whether the mobile ispositioned on its dedicated charging unit. If the mobile is positionedon its companion charging unit, the mobile sends, and the charging unitreceives, the code N, in step 610. In one embodiment, the mobile maydetermine the presence of its companion charging unit by sensing anactive voltage on the mobile's receiving line. If, however, the mobileis not positioned on its companion charging unit, the mobile may not beenabled for call processing, and may transition to idle state 602, wherethe mobile may wait for the next enabling cycle.

In step 612, the charging unit, having received the code N from itscompanion mobile and knowing the common code P, encrypts the code Nusing the common code P. The encryption may be based on the Rijndael128-bit key encryption technique, for example. In step 614, the chargingunit sends the encrypted code to its companion mobile. In step 616, themobile receives the encrypted code N. In step 618, the mobile comparesthe encrypted code N received from its dedicated charging unit with thestored encrypted code N. If these two codes match, it is verified thatthe mobile is actually positioned on its dedicated charging unit, andthus the mobile is enabled for call processing. In one embodiment, themobile may be enabled for a predetermined period of time, for example byresetting a WLL timer in the mobile to a predetermined value, in step620. Alternatively, a down counter may be used. If, however, the resultof the comparison in step 618 is negative, which indicates that themobile may not be positioned on its companion charging unit, the mobileis not enabled and may transition to the idle state 602, where themobile may wait for the next enabling cycle.

An alternative embodiment will be described in reference to FIG. 7A andFIG. 7B. FIG. 7A differs from FIG. 6A in that, after the mobile sendsthe code N to its companion charging unit in step 706, the mobile sets atime period (T), in step 708, for receiving a respond from its companioncharging unit. FIG. 7B differs from FIG. 6B in that the mobile maycheck, in step 716, whether it has received a respond from a chargingunit within the time period (T). If the mobile did not receive a respondfrom a charging unit within the time period (T), the mobile may assumethat it is not connected to any charging unit.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the mobile may be enabledfor call processing if the mobile is located within a predetermineddistance from its dedicated charging unit. In this embodiment, themobile may communicate to its dedicated charging unit throughlimited-range wireless communications means, which allows an encryptionmethod, such as one described above, to be performed while the mobile isnot necessarily positioned on its dedicated charging unit. One suchlimited wireless communications device may be Bluetooth™ wirelesstechnology, for example.

By disabling the mobile to handle a call processing function after beingaway from its dedicated charging station for a predetermined timeperiod, the service provider may limit the mobility of its mobiles withrespect to their companion charging units. The service provider may alsolimit the mobility of the charging units by, for example, making themlarger and heavier. Consequently, the service provider may limit themobility of the mobiles in a limited area, such as in a wireless localloop.

Advantageously, no hardware modifications are required for a mobile tooperate in a WLL, as described above. In addition, after a “mobilelicense” is granted to a subscriber, the mobile may be easilyreprogrammed to lift its programmed mobility restriction.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented aselectronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. Toclearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software,various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and stepshave been described above generally in terms of their functionality.Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or softwaredepends upon the particular application and design constraints imposedon the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the describedfunctionality in varying ways for each particular application, but suchimplementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present invention.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implementedor performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with theembodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Anexemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processorcan read information from, and write information to, the storage medium.In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC mayreside in a mobile. In the alternative, the processor and the storagemedium may reside as discrete components in a mobile unit. The word“exemplary” is used exclusively herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other embodiments.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentinvention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

1. A method for restricting mobility of a mobile apparatus for callprocessing within a wireless local loop, the method comprising:encrypting a random number at the mobile apparatus; establishing a firstconnection with a charging apparatus; sending the random number from themobile apparatus to the charging apparatus over the first connection;encrypting the random number at the charging apparatus; receiving at themobile apparatus the encrypted random number from the charging apparatusover the first connection; and restricting mobility of the mobileapparatus by enabling the mobile apparatus to establish a secondconnection for call processing within the wireless local loop based on asuccessful comparison of the encrypted random number at the mobileapparatus with the encrypted random number received from the chargingapparatus, and disabling the mobile apparatus from establishing thesecond connection for call processing within or outside the wirelesslocal loop if the comparison is unsuccessful.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the random number is an encrypted system time.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first connection is separate and distinct from thesecond connection.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the encryptingincludes encrypting the random number based on Rijndael 128-bit keyencryption technique.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the enablingfurther includes enabling the mobile apparatus for a predeterminedperiod of time.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the enabling furtherincludes enabling the mobile apparatus while the mobile apparatus ispositioned on the charging apparatus that is dedicated to the mobileapparatus.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the enabling furtherincludes enabling the mobile apparatus while the mobile apparatus islocated within a predetermined distance from the charging apparatus thatis dedicated to the mobile apparatus.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinthe enabling further includes enabling the mobile apparatus from apredetermined distance from the charging apparatus that is dedicated tothe mobile apparatus.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the chargingapparatus also restricts operation of the mobile apparatus by analgorithm used to encrypt the random number at the charging apparatus.10. The method of claim 1, wherein the charging apparatus is uniquelyassociated with the mobile apparatus so that both the charging apparatusand mobile apparatus use the same encryption algorithm to encrypt therandom number.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein if the encryptedrandom number at the mobile apparatus is the same as the encryptedrandom number received from the charging apparatus, the mobile apparatuscan establish wireless communications.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein if the encrypted random number at the mobile apparatus is notthe same as the encrypted random number received from the chargingapparatus, the mobile apparatus is prevented from establishing wirelesscommunications.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobility of themobile apparatus is restricted relative to the charging apparatus evenwhen the mobile apparatus is already charged.
 14. The method of claim 1,wherein the mobility of the mobile apparatus is restricted relative tothe charging apparatus irrespective of user interaction.
 15. The methodof claim 1, wherein the mobile apparatus wirelessly sends the randomnumber to the charging apparatus while it is at a distance from thecharging apparatus.
 16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:initiating a timeout timer after enabling the mobile apparatus based ona successful comparison of the encrypted random number at the mobileapparatus with the encrypted random number received from the chargingapparatus, wherein upon expiration of the timeout timer the mobileapparatus is disabled.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein disabling themobile apparatus includes preventing incoming and outgoing calls.
 18. Amobile apparatus having restricted mobility for call processing within awireless local loop comprising: means for generating a random number;means for establishing a first connection with a charging apparatus;means for encrypting the random number; means for sending the randomnumber to the charging apparatus over the first connection; means forreceiving an encrypted version of the random number from the chargingapparatus over the first connection; and means for restricting mobilityof the mobile apparatus by enabling the mobile apparatus to establish asecond connection for call processing within the wireless local loopbased on a successful comparison of the encrypted random number at themobile apparatus with the encrypted version of the random numberreceived from the charging apparatus, and disabling the mobile apparatusfrom establishing the second connection for call processing within oroutside the wireless local loop if the comparison is unsuccessful.
 19. Amobile apparatus having restricted mobility for call processing within awireless local loop comprising: a processor configured to generate arandom number, the processor also configured to encrypt the randomnumber; memory configured to store the random number and the encryptedrandom number; a transmitter configured to send the random number over afirst connection to a charging unit; and a receiver configured toreceive an encrypted version of the random number over the firstconnection from the charging unit, wherein the processor is alsoconfigured to restrict mobility of the mobile apparatus by enabling themobile apparatus to establish a second connection for call processingwithin the wireless local loop based on a successful comparison of theencrypted random number stored in the memory of the mobile apparatusunit and the encrypted random number received from the charging unit,and disable the mobile apparatus from establishing the second connectionfor call processing within or outside the wireless local loop if thecomparison is unsuccessful.
 20. A charging apparatus comprising: meansfor receiving an encrypted first random number from a mobile apparatusover a first connection: means for decrypting the received encryptedfirst random number from the mobile apparatus to reveal the first randomnumber; means for generating a second random number based on the firstrandom number; means for encrypting the second random number; and meansfor sending the encrypted second random number over the first connectionto the mobile apparatus, wherein mobility of the mobile apparatus isrestricted for call processing over a second connection within awireless local loop if a corresponding second random number storedwithin the mobile apparatus does not match the second random number sentby the charging apparatus.
 21. The charging apparatus of claim 20,wherein the charging apparatus also restricts operation of the mobileapparatus by an algorithm used to encrypt the second random number atthe charging apparatus.
 22. The charging apparatus of claim 20, whereinthe charging apparatus is uniquely associated with the mobile apparatusso that the mobile apparatus operates at only within a certain rangefrom the charging apparatus.
 23. A charging apparatus comprising: areceiver configured to receive an encrypted first random number from amobile apparatus over a first connection; a processor configured todecrypt the received encrypted first random number from the mobileapparatus to reveal the first random number, the processor furtherconfigured to encrypt a second random number, wherein the second randomnumber is generated based on the first random number; and a transmitterconfigured to send the encrypted second random number to the mobileapparatus over the first connection, wherein mobility of the mobileapparatus is restricted for call processing over a second connectionwithin a wireless local loop if a corresponding second random numberstored within the mobile apparatus does not match the second randomnumber sent by the charging apparatus.
 24. A non-transitory computerreadable medium comprising instructions for restricting mobility of amobile apparatus for call processing within a wireless local loop, theinstructions when executed by a machine, cause the machine to performoperations comprising: encrypting a random number at the mobileapparatus; establishing a first connection with a charging apparatus;sending the random number from the mobile apparatus to the chargingapparatus over the first connection; encrypting the random number at thecharging apparatus; receiving at the mobile apparatus the encryptedrandom number from the charging apparatus over the first connection; andrestricting mobility of the mobile apparatus by enabling the mobileapparatus to establish a second connection for call processing withinthe wireless local loop based on a successful comparison of theencrypted random number at the mobile apparatus with the encryptedrandom number received from the charging apparatus, and disabling themobile apparatus from establishing the second connection for callprocessing within or outside the wireless local loop if the comparisonis unsuccessful.
 25. A method for a charging apparatus to restrictmobility of a mobile apparatus comprising: receiving at the chargingapparatus an encrypted first random number from the mobile apparatusover a first connection; decrypting the received encrypted first randomnumber from the mobile apparatus to reveal the first random number;generating a second random number based on the first random number;encrypting the second random number; and sending the encrypted secondrandom number over the first connection to the mobile apparatus, whereinmobility of the mobile apparatus is restricted for call processing overa second connection within a wireless local loop if a correspondingsecond random number stored within the mobile apparatus does not matchthe second random number sent by the charging apparatus.
 26. Anon-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions for acharging apparatus to restrict mobility of a mobile apparatus for callprocessing within a wireless local loop, the instructions when executedby a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:receiving at the charging apparatus an encrypted first random numberfrom the mobile apparatus over a first connection; decrypting thereceived encrypted first random number from the mobile apparatus toreveal the first random number; generating a second random number basedon the first random number; encrypting the second random number; andsending the encrypted second random number over the first connection tothe mobile apparatus, wherein mobility of the mobile apparatus isrestricted for call processing over a second connection within awireless local loop if a corresponding second random number storedwithin the mobile apparatus does not match the second random number sentby the charging apparatus.